Queen Bertha of Kent

• Preferred Name: Queen Bertha of Kent ^{[1] [2]}
  
• Alternate Name: Bertha of the Franks
  
• Gender: F
  
• Burial: ABT 606 in St. Martin's Church, Wootton, Kingdom of Kent at LATI: N1.175 LONG: E0.1818
  
• LdsSealingToParents: 6 JAN 1993 with note: GEDCOM data
  
• Title (Nobility): with note: Description: Queen of Kent
  
• Birth: ABT 565 in Paris, Kingdom of Neustria, Gaul, Frankish Empire at LATI: N8.8667 LONG: E0.3333
  
• Christening: ABT 565 in Rheims, Kingdom of Austrasia, Gaul, Frankish Empire
  
• LdsEndowment: 5 JAN 1993 with note: GEDCOM data
  
• Fact: with note: Description: https://www.geni.com/people/Berthe-Aldeberge/6000000067765456822?through=6000000037678375521
  
• Alt. Burial: 601 in St. Martin's Church, Wootton, Kingdom of Kent at LATI: N1.175 LONG: E0.1818
  
• Death: ABT 606 in Kingdom of Kent at LATI: N1.2261 LONG: E0.7505
  
• Title (Nobility): with note: Description: Princess of the Franks
  
• Religion: with note: Description: This is the first christian (Catholic) queen in angleland. Part of the arrangement between her father and future husband was that she and her ladies be allowed to retain their faith. In time, her husband becomes the first Christian (Catholic) king in Angleland. Bronze statues of Bertha and her husband Aegbert are in Canterbury, England near the entrance to Canterbury Christ Church University. A University course "History of Britain" taken at Canterbury Christ Church University in fall 2007 included this information.
  
• LdsBaptism: 3 DEC 1992 with note: GEDCOM data
  
• Royal House: with note: Description: Merovingian
  
• FSID: LV44-2GZ
  
• Notes:

  === Life Sketch ===
  Wikipedia
  Saint Bertha or Saint Aldeberge (c. 565 – d. in or after 601) was the queen of Kent whose influence led to the Christianization of Anglo-Saxon England. She was canonized as a saint for her role in its establishment during that period of English history.
  
  Life
  Bertha was a Frankish princess, the daughter of Charibert I and his wife Ingoberga, granddaughter of the reigning King Chlothar I and great-granddaughter of Clovis I and Saint Clotilde. Her father died in 567, her mother in 589. Bertha had been raised near Tours.
  
  Her marriage to the pagan Æthelberht of Kent, in 580 AD, was on condition that she be allowed to practice her religion. She brought her chaplain, Liudhard, with her to England. A former Roman church was restored for Bertha just outside the City of Canterbury, and dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours. It was the private chapel of Queen Bertha before Augustine arrived from Rome.
  
  The present St Martin's Church continues on the same site, incorporating Roman walling of the original church in the chancel. It is acknowledged by UNESCO as the oldest church in the English-speaking world where Christian worship has taken place continuously since 580 AD. St Martin's (with Canterbury Cathedral and St Augustine's Abbey) make up Canterbury's UNESCO World Heritage site.
  
  Pope Gregory the Great sent a Mission led by Augustine of Canterbury, to restore Christianity to England in 596. The Mission's favourable reception upon arrival in 597 AD owed much to the influence of Bertha. Without her support and Æthelberht's good will, monastic settlements and the cathedral would likely have been developed elsewhere.
  
  In 601, Pope Gregory addressed a letter to Bertha, in which he complimented her highly on her faith and knowledge of letters.
  Anglo-Saxon records indicate that Saint Bertha had two children:
  
  . Eadbald of Kent, and
  . Æthelburg of Kent.
  
  She is named in the genealogies of various of the medieval accounts of the 'Kentish Royal Legend'.
  The date of her death (possibly 606) is disputed.
  
  Legacy
  The city of Canterbury celebrates Queen Bertha in many ways.
  The Bertha trail, consisting of 14 bronze plaques set in pavements, runs from the Buttermarket to St Martin's church via Lady Wootton's Green.
  
  In 2006, bronze statues of Bertha and Ethelbert were installed on Lady Wootton's Green as part of the Canterbury Commemoration Society's "Ethelbert and Bertha" project
  
  There is a wooden statue of Bertha inside St Martin's church.
  ***************************
  Foundation for Medieval Genealogy
  
  Parents of Bertha - 560
  
  King Charibert & his first wife had one child: a) BERTA ([before 560]-[601/before 616], bur Canterbury, Church of St Peter and St Paul). Gregory of Tours records that the daughter of King Charibert and Ingoberg "eventually married a man from Kent and went to live there". Bede records that "rex Aedilberct in Cantia" had "uxorem…Christianam de gente Francorum regia…Bercta" whom he had received "a parentibus" on condition she retained her religion.
  
  It is reasonable to assume that Berta was born before 560, given the subsequent marital history of her father, who died in 567 having married three times after repudiating his first wife, although it is possible that some if not all of his marriages were polygamous.
  
  Kirby suggests that Berta's marriage took place in 580 after analysing the various contradictory chronological indications in contemporary sources. According to Bede, as noted above, King Æthelberht received Bertha "a parentibus". As her father died in 567, and her mother in 589, this appears to mean that she married before 567 if taken literally, which seems unlikely.
  
  The word "parents" may in this context mean "relatives" more broadly. Already a Christian when she came to England, she was accompanied by Liudhard, a Frankish bishop, although if he attempted to convert her husband his efforts must have been unsuccessful in view of the later conversion of King Æthelberht by St Augustine.
  
  Queen Berta is named in Pope Gregory I's letter of 601 to her husband. Bede records the burial of "Aedilbert tex Cantuariorum" in "portico sancti Martini intro ecclesiam beatorum apostolorum Petri et Pauli" stating that this was where "Berctæ regina" was buried. m (580) as his first wife, ÆTHELBERHT King of Kent, son of EORMENRIC King of Kent & his wife --- (after [550]-24 Feb 616, bur Canterbury, Church of St Peter and St Paul.
  
  .
  
  === também aparece como BLIQUILDA, BERTHE, A ===
  também aparece como BLIQUILDA, BERTHE, ALDEBERGE e BLITHILDIS.
  
  === Medlands Project "unattested" daughter of Clovis "Bilichildus" ===
  daughter . The Gesta Episcoporum Mettensis names "Agiulfus" as sixth bishop of Metz, stating that "patre ex nobili senatorum familia orto, ex Chlodovei regis Francorum filia procreatus", and that "nepos ipsius…Arnoaldus" succeeded him as bishop[140]. This is the only reference so far found to this supposed daughter of King Clovis, whose existence should presumably therefore be treated with caution. The reference to her supposed grandson Arnold suggests some confusion with the sources which allege the existence of Bilichildis, possible daughter of King Clotaire I (see below). m ---.] [Two possible children:]
  a) [AGIULF (-22 Nov ----). Bishop of Metz. The Gesta Episcoporum Mettensis names "Agiulfus" as sixth bishop of Metz, stating that "patre ex nobili senatorum familia orto, ex Chlodovei regis Francorum filia procreatus", and that "nepos ipsius…Arnoaldus" succeeded him as bishop[141]. A list of bishops of Metz records "Aigulfus" as 26th bishop, holding the position for 20 years, and his death "X Kal Dec"[142].]
  b) [daughter . m ---.] [One possible child:]
  i) [ARNOLD . Bishop of Metz. The Gesta Episcoporum Mettensis names "Agiulfus" as sixth bishop of Metz, stating that "patre ex nobili senatorum familia orto, ex Chlodovei regis Francorum filia procreatus", and that "nepos ipsius…Arnoaldus" succeeded him as bishop[143]. A list of bishops of Metz records "Aigulfus" as 27th bishop, holding the position for 8 years and one month, but omits the date of his death[144].]
  
  === !Princess of Cologne. ===
  !Princess of Cologne.
  
  === Individual Record FamilySearch™ Pedigre ===
  Individual Record FamilySearch™ Pedigree Resource File
  
  Blithilda of Cologne Compact Disc #42 Pin #99257
  Sex: F
  
  Event(s):
  Birth: abt 0541 Place: Paris, Seine, France
  Death: UNKNOWN Place:
  
  Parents:
  Father: Cloderic the Patricide King of Cologne Disc #42 Pin #99259
  Mother: Kinswoman of St. Chrotechilde Burgundy Ingoberge Disc #42 Pin #99258
  
  Marriage(s):
  Spouse: Ansbertus Senator von Scheide of Saxony Disc #42 Pin #99256
  Marriage: Place:
  
  Notes and Sources:
  Notes: None
  Sources: None
  
  Submitter:
  Michael Richard Esquer SWIGART PO Box 3138 La Puente, CA 91744
  
  Submission Search: 119392-0227102190247
  URL:
  CD-ROM: Pedigree Resource File - Compact Disc #42
  CD-ROM Features: Pedigree View, Family View, Individual View,
  
  === 1 NAME Blithidis /De France/ ===
  1 NAME Blithidis /De France/
  
  === !NOTE: 2 Bryan Thomas c Bernhard.ged;;;; ===
  !NOTE: 2 Bryan Thomas c Bernhard.ged;;;;, Source Media Type: Other. Date !NOTE: Louisa Hays 18c.ged;;;;, Source Media Type: Other. Date of Import: !NOTE: L Hays 8-27-02.FTW;;;;, Source Media Type: Other. Date of Import: !NOTE: Louisa Hays 21a.ged;;;;, Source Media Type: Other. Date of Import: !NOTE: Louisa Hays 21d.ged;;;;, Source Media Type: Other. Date of Import: !NOTE: Francis Bryan William I DE MONTAGU 4.ged;;;;, Source Media Type: !NOTE: Francis Bryan William I DE MONTAGU Pbepin 1.ged;;;;, Source Media !NOTE: Francis Bryan William I DE MONTAGU matilda 2.ged;;;;, Source Media !NOTE: Francis Bryan William I DE MONTAGU Louis Pious 1.ged;;;;, Source !NOTE: Francis Bryan William I DE MONTAGU Charlemagne 1.ged;;;;, Source !NOTE: Bryan William Edward II 14.ged;;;;, Source Media Type: Other. Date !NOTE: Bryan William Katherine De GRANDISON 4.ged;;;;, Source Media Type: !NOTE: Corrie Hale Families 11-18-02.FTW;;;;, Source Media Type: Other. !NOTE: GEDCOM File : Corrie Hale Families 12-4-02.ged !MARRIAGE: GEDCOM File : Corrie Hale Families 12-4-02.ged !MARRIAGE: GEDCOM File : Corrie Hale Families 12-4-02.ged
  
  === !DESCENT: Frederick Lewis Weis and Wal ===
  !DESCENT: Frederick Lewis Weis and Walter Lee Sheppard, Jr., Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America Before 1700, 7th ed., at 156 (1992). Line 180-5.

1. Title: Ancestry Family Trees
   Author: Ancestry Family Trees
   
2. Title: Historic uk.com, History of England -Bertha of Kent
   Publication: Name: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/learn/histories/women-in-history/queen-bertha-historical-enigma/;